


Camping

by PixelatedRose



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, Swearing, mention of a dead animal for a brief moment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:07:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24723532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PixelatedRose/pseuds/PixelatedRose
Summary: Roman is unaware of his feelings for Virgil until one day when the gang decides to go camping, finally convincing Roman to tag along.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 2
Kudos: 76





	Camping

**Author's Note:**

> A Prompt ask I got on my Tumblr, @pixelatedrose  
> "listen, it's not really my fault i fell in love with him!! HE WAS SHIRTLESS!!"  
> Prinxiety Prompt

It was early August and Roman’s friends had  _ finally _ convinced him to tag along with them to go camping.

“But there are  _ bugs _ !!” Roman complained.

“So? Bugs are cool.” Virgil said, looking up briefly from his phone.

“Oh yeah?” Roman continued to whine. “Well I hardly took  _ you _ as one who  _ enjoyed _ camping in the middle of nowhere with zero cell service, Dr. Gloom!” Roman antagonized the emo boy.

Virgil stuck out his tongue at the sassy drama queen. “You’re just pouty cause we never  _ asked _ you to come before because we thought you  _ hated _ the outdoors.”

“I do not  _ hate _ the outdoors!!” Roman scoffed. “I just don’t really find the idea of bugs and sap and burnt food and bugs very  _ appealing _ .”

“Aw, Roman! Is this your first time camping?” Patton asked, calling from where he was placing an overfilled bag into the bed of Logan’s truck.

Roman flushed and turned away haughtily. “Well it’s not  _ my _ fault my moms never wanted to go and sleep on the ground!!”

Patton clapped his tall friend on the back, smiling from ear to ear. “Oh, you’re going to have  _ so much FUN _ !!”

Soon the truck was packed, with Logan helping Roman make sure that he had everything necessary. (“No, Roman, you won’t be needing your fantasy elf cloak.” “BUT WHAT IF THE DWARVES COME FOR ME?!”)

The car ride was long, Roman and Virgil sitting in the back with Patton sitting up front and Logan driving. Roman ended up falling asleep, his head resting against a drowsy Virgil’s shoulder. Patton, thinking this was the cutest thing ever, snapped a picture with the camera he brought along.

“Logan,  _ look _ !!”

“Patton, dear, I am incapable of looking at whatever you wish to show me if I am to drive safely on this road.”

“Oh, right, sorry! Virgil and Roman fell asleep on top of each other, that’s all!”

“Oh. How lovely.”

“Logan why are you pulling over?”

“Revenge.”

Roman and Virgil woke up in different positions, Roman’s face pressed up against the window and Virgil having adjusted to leaning against his seatbelt. They also awoke to marker coating their faces.

“That’s for the cookies you two baked me last week.” Logan said when they had started freaking out.

“But it was  _ funny _ !!” Virgil protested, rubbing at the marker hearts doodled on his cheeks.

“Cookies should  _ not _ contain any-  _ especially _ that  _ much _ \- pepper in it!! Consider us even, Ruiners of Sweets.” Logan seethed dramatically.

The ride from then on was filled with karaoke, disney, and laughter.

When they arrived at the campsite, they tried to divide the work up. However, it became  _ very _ clear that Roman had no idea what he was doing when he mistakenly snapped one of the tent poles clean in half.

“Whoops…”

Virgil sighed. “Great! At least I know how to fix it once I get home. I guess I’m sleeping under the stars tonight…”

Patton shook his head. “Nonsense!! There’s plenty of room in Roman’s tent for you to sleep in there!”

Roman nearly choked. “What?!”

Virgil just shrugged. “'Ight. But  _ I’m _ setting up tents from now on.  _ Roman _ can make the fire.”

“I do not trust that Roman will know an adequate way of starting a fire. Perhaps he can prepare food instead? It is probably something he should have been doing from the start seeing as I am not the best in the culinary arts.” Logan offered.

Roman nodded, trying to keep his head up. It was just his first time camping after all. He was a little upset by the fact that he was going to be sharing a tent with Virgil. Why? He wasn’t 100% sure. But it made his chest flare up and his face burn. The fact of the matter was that he was incredibly nervous about sleeping in very tight quarters with his very attractive friend of whom he’d subconsciously had a crush on since they’d met in high school. But he would  _ never _ admit such a thing. Especially when it was still so subtle.

Dinner was finished, Roman figuring out how to cook over the fire after a few attempts, and with that, Patton took out his guitar and played songs that Roman hadn’t heard before, but the others seemed to know by heart. Stories were told and laughs were exchanged as well as shrieks in terror followed by evil giggles of delight. The sun was long put to rest by the time the fire simmered out.

The friends parted to their separate tents and the lanterns were put out.

Virgil unzipped the tent’s door, holding it open as if he were any semblance of a gentleman. “Just don’t you go falling for me because of this, Princey.” Virgil smirked, pushing Roman into the tent face first.

Roman fell and from the ground mumbled sarcastically. “Trust me,  _ not _ a problem.”

Roman pulled a loose tank top over his head and turned to Virgil, expecting something similar. Except he found the pale boy, completely bare chested, reading a book in a position that had  _ no right _ looking as attractive as it did.

“Finally done getting ready, Princey?” He asked, sparing a glance up at the now red faced boy.

Roman prayed that his colored face was hidden by the god-awful lighting in the now much too small tent. “Y-yep!!” Roman faked a nonchalant tone, trying not to stare so openly.

“Great.” Virgil said, his casual tone was only what Roman dreamed he had sounded like. “I’m going to finish this chapter and then I’ll turn lights out. Don’t wait for me.”

Roman tucked himself into his sleeping bag and turned away from Virgil, trying desperately to get the image of his friend’s surprisingly toned chest out of his mind. Did Virgil work out? He always looked so thin and stringy under his hoodie…

“Night, Vee.” Roman wrestled the words from his throat, his voice cracking, making him want to die a little bit more.

Virgil didn’t say anything and Roman, for the next twenty minutes, listened to the sound of quietly turning pages, all the while panicking at their closeness and, for the millionth time, trying not to think about Virgil’s lack of a shirt.

Finally, Virgil put his book down and stretched. He panicked even more when Virgil seemed to lean over to Roman and he shut his eyes, years of practice in pretending to be asleep finally paying off.

Virgil leaned back and if Roman had his eyes open and had been facing the pale boy, he would have seen Virgil smile ever so fondly and sweetly, a light pink adorning his pale cheeks. “...Cute…” Virgil whispered quietly, not aware that Roman could hear him quite clearly in the silence of the night. Virgil flicked off the lights and, in a single line, probably made Roman fall irreversibly deep into the boiling pool of love. “Goodnight, my prince. I’ll love you tomorrow…”

In the dead of the night, Roman heard Virgil’s breath even out next to him.

Roman, red faced, turned to try and look at his sleeping friend, just to make sure, only to be met with a cute face not six inches away from his own. Even in the dark, Roman began to take notice of things he’d seemingly never seen before. Like how his dark hair faded perfectly into purple at the tips, making it look like purple flames. It made Roman want to reach out and fluff it about. Or the way his pale cheeks were impossibly cute and round, devoid of their usual makeup and beautiful. It made Roman want to hold his perfect face in his own imperfect hands. Or the way his lips curved so exquisitely, a soft beautiful thing. It made Roman want to lean forward and capture such flawless lips with his own.

“We have a big fucking problem.” Roman whispered to himself.

~~•~~

The next morning Roman woke up to the sound of pots banging.

“ _ WAKE UP SLEEPING BEAUTY, WE’RE GOING TO THE LAKE TODAY _ !!!” Virgil’s voice had momentarily made Roman forget everything last night as it was, at the moment, the most  _ annoying _ thing on the goddamn planet.

Virgil threw the tent door open, somehow letting more light into the small area. Roman tossed the edge of his sleeping bag up over his face in dismay. “Nooo….What time is it even…?”

Virgil stopped banging his pots for a half second. “About 8:45. When you’re camping, the sun’s your alarm, Princey!!” He trilled out in a sing-song voice.

“ _ Why _ ,” Roman complained, poking his head out of his cocoon. “Is the  _ one _ time you’re cheery the  _ one _ time I wish you weren’t?”

Roman opened his eyes and was met face to face with a sinisterly smirking Virgil, his figure framed in splashing golden light as he leaned in to get a view of Roman. “Because I live to be the bane of your existence, Princey!” He smiled all too brightly, and Roman was reminded of his ever growing problem as he felt his face heat up.

Patton poked his head in through the doorway, ruining the picture perfect scene Roman had before him. It wasn’t that he minded, though. No of  _ course _ not. He wasn’t upset at  _ all _ that the picture of Virgil with perfect golden light shining around him in a perfect, sunny corona was thrown off by a smiling Patton. He would  _ never _ be upset.

“C’mon, Ro! It’s time to wake up!! Logan and me made campfire pancakes!!” Patton smiled. Virgil’s eyes lit up like Roman had never seen them light up before. A childish sparkle, like when a kid gets told they’re allowed to have two cookies instead of one.

Logan’s voice called from outside the tent. “It’s ’Logan and  _ I _ ’ Patton.”

”Yeah, yeah, whatever, Honey. I’m just excited for campfire pancakes!!”

”We  _ all _ are, Pat! Campfire pancakes are the  _ only _ thing Logan can make edible, and of all the things I’ve eaten, it would be the one that should be considered fucking  _gourmet_!!”

Roman listened to his friends chatter as he got ready, suddenly upset he’d declined Patton’s offers for so long. It wasn’t that he had never wanted to go before, but he’d never been in the woods alone since his brother had forced him into the woods near their old house as children to show him a dead and rotting fox corpse. The memory left a pretty solidly foul taste in his mouth and made him shudder.

He’d complain about bugs and charred food for as long as he needed to. He  _ wasn _ ’ _ t _ about to let slip that he’d been  _ scared _ to go back into a place that reminded him so vividly of something so distasteful.

”And he rises!!” Virgil said theatrically when Roman emerged from the tent. Now that he could see better, Roman looked Virgil over. His hair was slightly tousled from sleep and he was wearing a plain, dark t-shirt. His pale face bore practically no makeup, save for the remnants of his eyeshadow that seemed to never go away. His smile was bright and happy, excited in a way Roman had never seen before now. It was at this time that Roman realized this was one of a very select few times that he’d seen Virgil without a hoodie or jacket on. He was pretty. Honestly, Roman thought he should have noticed how charming the tall man was before now.

Roman smiled coolly. ”Now where are those campfire pancakes I keep hear you guys yapping about?”

~~•~~

The pancakes  _ were _ amazing. And after hiking to a lake, Roman was starting to think camping really wasn’t  _ all _ too bad. The trail had ended, coming out to the view of a crisp lake with a sandy bank, driftwood strewn about the shore. A wooden dock with a rope swing attached to the end adorned the right side of the picture and a picnic bench decorated a small grassy patch a short distance away from the shore, save from potentially splashing children.

However the picturesque lake was absent of any and all people, leaving the entire lake to themselves.

”Wow...” Roman breathed out as the lake came into view.

Virgil smiled fondly at the starry-eyed man next to him, not that Roman had noticed. ”Yeah. It’s pretty sweet, isn’t it?” Virgil said, walking with Roman to towards the shore as Patton gleefully ran ahead to the dock and Logan crossed over to the picnic table to place the bag containing their lunches. ”This place was actually pretty abandoned when me and Lo first found it.”

Roman glanced at Virgil, who was smiling wistfully out at the clear water. ”Really?”

Virgil nodded, sitting down on a large piece of driftwood. ”Yeah. Our families would go camping together all the time when we were kids. One day we came to this old, near abandoned campsite and found this lake after hiking an all but completely overgrown trail. It was my mom that convinced my dad to buy up the site. It was fairly cheap, but my parents made it their passion project. I was about 15 years old when they finally finished it all.” Virgil looked over to Roman, his eyes filled with a gentle excitement. “It’s been our own little retreat ever since then! I can’t count how many times me and Logan came here to help work or even after it was done. This place means a lot to me.” He clapped Roman on the back, smiling delightfully. “I’m glad you came, Princey!” Virgil then pushed him over into the warm sand. “ _ That’s _ enough cheese for today I think!! Race ya to the rope swing, theater dork!!” Virgil took off toward the dock and Roman, for once, was glad he had pushed him over and ran away. 

Roman’s face and chest was ablaze. The way that Virgil seemed to treasure this place, wanting to share it with Roman, it made him unbelievably happy. The way the pale boy’s eyes sparkled and the way his usually lazy smile was bright and bold, it sent his heart aflutter.

“You fiend!!” Roman accused, scrambling up to his feet. “That’s not  _ fair _ !!” He charged after Virgil’s dark hair, hoping to leave his dangerously growing adoration behind in the sand.

They took turns swinging off the rope swing and shoving one another into the water, splashing about in it’s cool waves a welcome sensation against the heat of the sun. Lunch finally came and they chatted and joked and told swapped stories until Logan declared that it was time they all headed back.

“Actually, Logan? Can I talk to you for a bit?” Virgil asked as they were packing up.

Logan raised an eyebrow, but nodded. “Of course. Patton, Roman, you two can go on ahead of us. We will catch up to you later.”

“Sure thing, honey!!” Patton said cheerily, wrapping his arm around Roman’s shoulders, though because of the height difference, mistakenly pulled Roman down a bit in the process.

They chatted a bit until the subject of Virgil managed to come up.

“Virgil?” Roman asked, the thought of the green eyed man making him flush. When had that started happening? “I mean he’s great of course...I mean more than great honestly. Have you ever noticed how perfect his hair always looks, Pat? Or like how pretty he is just... _ everywhere _ ? It’s  _ infuriating _ !!” Roman looked over to his short friend. “Right, Pat….? Uhh…”

Patton wore a shiteating grin on his face as he smirked smugly at Roman. “I _knew_ it!” Patton declared. “I knew it, I knew it, I _knew_ _it_!!”

Roman’s face flared and his heart started to beat. “Knew w-what?! What did you know?!”

Patton jabbed a finger at Roman’s chest. “ _ You’re _ in  _ love _ with  _ Virgil _ !!” He announced, his grin growing more and more excited and mischievous by the second, his golden eyes sparkling more and more from under his wide, round frames. “ _ Aren’t _ you?!”

Had Roman been a balloon, he would have burst. His face was undoubtedly the color of a rose and his heart was beating far too loud for Patton  _ not _ to hear it, he thought. Roman finally caved, giving a sigh. "Listen, it's not really my fault I fell in love with him!! HE WAS  _ SHIRTLESS _ !!"

Patton danced around the path way, spinning and chanting, “YOU’RE IN LOVE WITH VIRGIL!! YOU’RE IN LOVE WITH VIRGIL!!”

“Okay okay!! I’m in love with Virgil!! Now will you quiet down! What if they’re about to catch up?!” Roman said, mild panic pricking his heart.

“So  _ what _ if they hear us?!” Patton stopped his dancing, facing Roman. “I mean Virgil’s already been in love with you for  _ years _ now!!” Patton said excitedly, waving his hand as if it was common knowledge.

Roman’s life could have ended then and there. “He what-?”

Patton’s smiling face didn’t falter as extreme panic set his eyes ablaze. “ _ Shit _ !!” He said in the most cheery tone a person has ever used to say shit. In fact, Roman could only count on two other times he’d even  _ heard _ Patton curse. “You were  _ not _ supposed to know that!!” Patton continued with his cheery voice.

Roman grabbed Patton by the shoulders, emotions swirling violently within him. “Virgil’s been in love with me for years?!” He asked, ecstatic panic dripping from his voice and flooding his eyes.

Patton’s smile  _ did  _ falter this time as he looked away, bashful at what he’d let slip. “Well, yeah...He never-”

Roman picked up the small boy and spun him around, laughing splendidly. “Patton!! You’re an angel from heaven!!” He bubbled. He set Patton down and hugged him tightly. A thought struck him and he separated from the small boy, not even having heard the blonde’s shouts announcing he couldn’t breath. “Oh god! I have to tell Virgil! I have to go find him!!” 

Roman started to run away, but Patton grabbed his sleeve. “But what should I do?! We were supposed to get the fire going and dinner started! It’s beginning to get dark!”

Roman looked at Patton with desperate eyes. “I just realized how I feel about Virgil. I don’t want this to turn into a pining competition! I  _ have _ to find him  _ right now _ !”

Something in Roman’s voice must have convinced Patton because he let go. “Alright.” He lightly tapped his fist against his taller friend’s shoulder. “Go sweep him off his feet, Ro!”

And with that, Roman was off sprinting back down the trail.

He caught sight of Virgil and Logan walking down the path as the trail was beginning to darken with purple under the canopy of trees in the soon to be dying sunlight. Roman smiled and waved to them down the trail.

“Roman?” Virgil asked, a concerned and mildly frightened look glazing his eyes over. “Is everything okay? Did something happen? Where’s Patton? Is he alright? Is-”

Roman swooped Virgil into a spinning hug, not letting the boy finish his anxious rambling. “Oh, everything is  _ more _ than just  _ alright _ , my dark and stormy knight!” Roam laughed, holding on to his heart from around his waist, grasping him close.

Virgil’s face lit up with splashes of red and pink. “Uhm…?”

Logan looked between the two and smiled. “I’ll go on ahead and make sure Patton has some company.” He said, picking up Virgil’s discarded bag and turning to walk down the darkening trail.

Roman stopped spinning Virgil and let the green eyed man down, only just loosening his hold on him.

But to Roman’s utter dismay, as soon as Logan was out of sight, Virgil pushed out from Roman’s grasp. “What the hell, Ro? What was that?” He snapped, turning away from the taller boy.

Roman’s hopes sunk. Had Patton lied to him? No...Patton said he wasn’t even supposed to tell. It  _ had _ to be true.

But Roman had to be sure. “Virgil, do you love me?” Fireflies were starting to swirl around them, lighting up like stray stars.

“What…?” Virgil stopped, looking back at Roman.

Roman stepped closer, beginning to realize how desperately he wanted Virgil to love him. “Are you in love with me, Virgil?”

Virgil looked away, crossing his arms over themselves.

The sounds of the forest settled between them.

Finally Virgil spoke, his voice shaky and choked. “S-so what if I am? I mean- I didn’t mean to- I don’t-” Virgil turned back to face Roman, his hands embedded in his head of thick, messy hair, his eyes shimmering with tears. “I assume Patton spilled...And I just didn’t want to tell you cause I didn’t want to lose you as a friend! I  _ know _ you don’t feel the same way, so I was trying to be a good friend...I’m sorry if-”

“Goodnight my prince. I’ll love you tomorrow.” Roman quoted.

“W-what?”

“Last night. That’s what you said before you went to sleep. Can I ask why?” Roman stepped closer, the sun beginning to descend beyond view.

Virgil was caught between paling and flushing harder. He rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s the stupidest thing ever…” He started, though smiling. “Anytime we ever had a sleepover, or you fell asleep studying at my place or during a movie night, I’d say that. It was supposed to be this stupid ‘I can’t love you now, so I’ll love you tomorrow’ thing...Hella cheesy, I know…”

Roman stepped closer again and brushed Virgil’s hand, though the pale boy flinched it back. “Well remember when you said not to fall for you and I said it wouldn’t be a problem?” he stepped closer still, bringing his hand up to Virgil’s chin.

“Yeah…?” Virgil didn’t pull away this time, though his eyes remained glued to Roman’s chest.

Roman tilted his chin upward, looking into the gorgeous green eyes Roman never knew he’d fallen for. “Well I think I have a problem…” He leaned in even closer, and he swear he could almost hear Virgil’s heart. 

Before Roman could try and capture his lips with his own, Virgil leaned forward and closed the distance himself.

Roman melted into the kiss and could have sworn he tasted raspberries on Virgil’s breath. Virgil’s arms found themselves draped over Roman’s shoulders and his fingers played in his hair as Roman drew Virgil closer still, never wanting to let go of the person he’d loved so dearly for years, blind to it as denial had taken hold of him.

And it was all over much too quickly as Virgil pulled apart just enough to speak. “I think it’s finally tomorrow…” He said, breathlessly, his eyes traveling from Roman’s chest up to his golden brown eyes.

Roman smiled and rested his forehead against Virgil’s. “I think I like tomorrow…!” He caught Virgil up in another kiss and the two blissfully fell into one another.

And Roman decided he quite liked camping, after all.


End file.
